The Jackson Twins in The Lightning Thief
by Ch33tahP4w
Summary: What if Percy Jackson wasn't the only child of the Sea? Hold up. Back up. Rewind. Follow Percy and Attie Jackson as they're thrown into the world where Greek Mythology isn't myths after all. Yeah, they couldn't believe it either. Danger must be a requirement to be a Jackson. Told from Attie's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hellooooooooo_** **Fanfiction! It's been awhile, mostly because I've had zero motivation to write anything. But then I re-read the Percy Jackson series and BOOM suddenly I want to write all about Percy and (my OC) his twin sister Attie and the adventures they have. So, let me clear some things up first:**

 **If you want to know more about Attie, before I write all about her in these stories, visit my bio. She's the first thing you see.**

 **Attie** ** _isn't_** **a Mary Sue.**

 **I do plan on writing the entire series over with Attie added in the mix. Will it take a long time? Yes. Will I update regularly? I wish, but no. Sorry in advance, but reviews always get my motivation going. And they make me happy.**

 **There will be a few things that Attie thinks that is similar to what Percy thinks in 'The Lightning Thief', but that's completely normal because they're twins.**

 **There's another story out there where 'Percy-has-a-twin-let's-rewrite-the-series-with-her-in-it' but Attie is different than Leila. I loved author writer** ** _Sincerely Kimby's_** **stories so much, but I am not copying her. I read her stories and am trying to make a lot of things different so it's not like I stole her story, you know? I have had this idea way before I read her stories, so please keep that in mind.**

 **Thanks so much for clicking on this story. I hope you fall in love with Attie like I have.**

 **Now, please enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything Percy Jackson. That all belongs to Rick Riordan (my childhood). The only thing I own are my OC's which will (mostly) include Attie Jackson and Jamie Cray.**

 **Chapter one: We Accidently Vaporize Our Pre Algebra Teacher**

What's my brother gone and told you this time? Don't you act all innocent. He was giving you advice wasn't he? Rule number one: don't listen to Percy's advice. Actually, scratch that- don't listen to Percy. I'm about to tell you a story that's absolutely true. Don't believe me? Fine, whatever. I already went down that road and, honestly, it didn't work too well for me.

I'm just going to put this in the simplest way I can: you already opened this book and sealed your fate. Now _they_ know where you are and it's only a matter of time before _they_ come. Your peaceful life is over, sorry. Now, welcome to my world.

 _What is my world?_ you might ask. Well where's the fun in just telling you, huh? Nah, I'm just going to start the story of my life now.

Introductions should be made, I assume. My name is Attie Jackson and I have a twin brother Percy Jackson. Our story starts on an average school day last May. We were going on a field trip to Manhattan, twenty eight problemed children all packed on a small bus with only two teacher chaperons looking out for us. Were Percy and I problemed children?

Oh yeah.

The field trip was the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff. You know, really old uncovered statues and paintings.

The boarding school where we were shipped off to was called Yancy. I remember my first thought when I heard the name: _Isn't that a fish_? This was our sixth school in six years, so my brother and I made a pact before the field trip began: Be on our best behavior.

I didn't think it would be hard. Our favorite teacher, Mr. Brunner, was going to be one of the chaperones so it shouldn't be all bad. Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair that taught Latin in our school. His hair was dark gray and thinning and he had a curly beard that hung about two inches off his face. He always seemed to wear this tweed jacket and if you got close enough he smelt like coffee. His eyes were the color of ground up coffee beans and seemed to hold more knowledge than a regular guy his age.

So, yeah, we had to be good. With Mr. Brunner there I knew my brother and I would try our hardest. I had pretty high hopes for this trip.

Too bad we pretty much have the worst luck _ever_.

See, bad things happen to us on field trips. I can't really explain it, but it's like the universe always seems to go out of its way and make Percy and I look bad. This one time in fifth grade, we were at a field trip to Saratoga battlefield. I accidently pressed too hard on the long tube part of a cannon (there was a sign that specifically said not to touch it, but rules were meant to be broken) and it somehow aimed at our parked school bus. That wouldn't have been a problem but somehow Percy managed to get the thing to fire. Who knew it was loaded?

And a year before that, in fourth grade, our class had taken a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool. We were on a catwalk, right above one of the tanks, and, well, the button was just so shiny Percy had to push it. Our class got dunked in the water and I thought _what they hay?_ and push my brother and myself in as well.

Get the picture?

Percy and I came up with a genius plan to keep away from trouble: Don't touch anything, don't look at anything, and don't even think about anything. It was easier said than done.

The trip started bad on the bus ride there. The school bully, Nancy Bobofit, the girl who just seemed to make it her goal to make our lives miserable, was throwing pieces of her peanut butter and ketchup sandwich into our friend Grover Underwood's hair. I… don't even know what peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches taste like, and I'm not going to try them anytime soon.

"I'm going to kill her," Percy mumbled. He was really protective of Grover especially since the kid was an easy target. He was short, skinny, had loads of acne, and to top it all off, was crippled. I'm pretty sure he has some muscular disease that made it so every step hurt him. Yet he could run like no one's business when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria. The kid loved to eat. The three of us going against each other in an eating contest was certainly a sight to behold.

I sat across from them, hogging a three seater all to myself. The bus was big enough so it didn't really matter. My back was pressed against the window, my legs stretched out in front of me. I was the picture of comfortable.

"Awe, come on Perce," Grover said. "I like peanut butter."

"We all know that you don't like wearing it," I pointed out. He turned towards me and rose an eyebrow.

"Are you with me or against me?"

"Oh, no I'm totally with you," I stated, sitting up a little straighter and looking at my brother. "We're on probation, remember? Think about mom." That got his attention.

Percy deflated in his seat and mumbled, "It's not like _you_ don't want to beat her up."

"Self-control," I stated, laughing a little. "We can't get in trouble _already_."

Another piece of the sandwich landed in Grover's hair. My fists tightened at my sides- geeze couldn't the girl give him a break? I mean, she obviously knew that she was pushing our buttons as well as his. Why did some people go searching for fights?

My brother started standing in his seat, fists also clenched at his sides as he growled, "That's it."

Ugh, Percy. The boy was extremely protective of his friends, which, admittedly, hasn't been a lot over the years, and one day that protectiveness was going to get him hurt. I quickly shuffled over so I sat at the aisle seat and reached over and grabbed Percy's wrist. He looked at me with a small amount of anger in his eyes.

"No," I snapped and tugged his wrist down. He grudgingly placed his butt back on the seat. Grover shot me a look of thanks. Not many people could control my brother, sometimes even I couldn't, but hey, being a twin does have its special perks.

So we arrived at the Museum with no deaths, though I did catch Mrs. Dodds turning around in her seat and giving us the stink eye. I honestly didn't know what her problem is. Ever since day one Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy like she was her own child while she looked at Percy and I like we were little demons. She was this little lady who looked to be in her late fifties and mean enough to run you over with her car. She always seemed to be scowling and so far I hadn't seen her smile. She had this distinct accent that I couldn't quite place. Mrs. Dodds always wore a black leather jacket over her shirt, like she was in some kind of biker gang.

Mr. Brunner stayed in the front of the group, rolling around in his wheelchair and giving detailed descriptions of almost everything we passed. It was pretty cool that the statues survived thousands of years, but I mean, you've seen one and you've seen 'em all. I stayed pretty close to Percy and Grover, but my mind wondered to a bunch of different things. I blame my ADHD.

I only came back to earth when I heard Percy almost shouting, "Will you just shut up?" I jumped slightly with his voice close to my ear and winced when I realized that the entire museum literally silenced. Great.

"Do you have something to share with the class, Mr. Jackson?" Mr. Brunner asked. I wondered if he was really mad- Mr. Brunner was usually a calm guy, even when facing Nancy.

My brother's face was tomato red as he replied, "No, sir."

"Ah, well, then I suppose you can tell me what this is?" Mr. Brunner gestured behind him at the painting he was obviously explaining a second ago.

I glanced at the picture and smiled a little. Percy totally knew this, "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"

I nodded slightly, the story coming to me. Mr. Brunner obviously wasn't satisfied, "And he did this because…?"

"Well..." Percy paused, trying to remember the story, "Kronos was the king god, and—"

"God?" Mr. Brunner questioned. _Titan_ , I thought.

"Titan," He corrected himself quickly. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"

"Eeew!" one of the girls in the group said. I rolled my eyes. It was just a myth- it didn't even happen.

"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," Percy continued, "and the gods won."

I heard some people snickering, which made me shake my head. Some people were so immature. I, personally, was pretty proud that Percy remembered the story. See, my brother wasn't the best at memorizing facts or dates in history. It's not like I should be talking, though I was just a tad better than he was.

Behind us, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'" _Not at her job_ , I thought with a smirk. _She'd be asked 'Can you say "Would you like fries with that?"'_

"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

I snorted, but covered it up with a cough, "Busted." Grover and I said at the same time.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face bright red.

Percy seemed to contemplate the question, and then shrugged. "I don't know, sir."

"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed, causing me to huff in annoyance. No 'Good job'? Really, the kid tried his hardest. And it wasn't like we actually _did_ need to know this in real life. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

I didn't think that was a very happy note, but that was Mr. Brunner's humor. We began walking outside, "Eat," I groaned with a dramatic tap of my stomach. "I didn't even have any breakfast!"

"We should separate ourselves from the school," Percy suggested. "Wouldn't want people to think that we actually-"

"Mr. Jackson," Mr. Brunner called. All three of us paused our slow trek to the outside world and turned towards our teacher. He beckoned Percy over.

He shrugged, "Go ahead, be out in a minute."

We nodded and left him to whatever Mr. Brunner wanted to say. I wasn't worried- he wouldn't be hard on my brother. We were his star students, which I'll admit, did feel a little good. We've never really been star students before- we were the children who didn't know how to stay out of trouble. Also know as: the kids always in detention.

It was super hot and uncomfortably humid outside and I absentmindedly pulled at the collar of the shirt to offer a small breeze to my face. There was a fountain at a reasonable distance from out classmates and we immediately made a beeline there. We made ourselves comfortable on the rim and I'll admit that I was a little tempted to cannon ball into the water. I restrained myself though, once I realized that Mrs. Dodds was looking at us like she knew we were up to no good.

I glanced up at the sky when I heard the faint sound of rumbling. Waves of black clouds loomed overhead, giving the sky an ominous look to it.

"Think it's going to rain?" I asked Grover. "'Cause I didn't bring a rain coat."

Grover turned his attention to the sky and something in his expression changed. I couldn't explain it if I tried, mostly because it was gone a moment later, "Well, you have heard about the weird weather."

I had. The weather has been weird all across New York since Christmas. I chalked it up to global warming. I was about to respond when Percy walked up to us, looking rather gloomy, "Did you get detention?"

"Nah," he plopped down next to Grover, "not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometime, you know? I'm not a genius."

"You can say that again," I snickered behind my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Personally made by yours truly.

Grover was quiet for a long second, like he was thinking of something nice to say to my brother. Then, "Can I have your apple?"

Percy and I grinned as my brother tossed his apple at Grover who caught it with ease and munched on it contently. Percy and Grover chatted idly about small things as my eyes wondered down to the road at the bottom of the hill. Homesickness settled itself in my chest. Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to hop into a taxi and go see my mom. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. She'd be glad to see me, but also disappointed. She's send my brother and I straight back to Yancy and remind us to keep trying our best even though it was hard. She understood, but she always said that we were destined for great things.

I looked up and noticed Percy staring at me sadly. He knew that I was thinking of mom. And now he was probably all sad and thinking about her too. _Great going, Attie_ , I chided myself. Wiping my slightly misty eyes, I nodded at my brother and tried for a smile. He returned it.

What would I do without my brother?

A shadow suddenly loomed over us, making the cold air even chillier. I glared up at Nancy as she smiled crookedly down at us. Then she dumped her half eaten lunch all over Percy's lap.

Grover looked horrified as I shot up. I saw red. Then… something happened.

The ground shook ever so slightly, there was a roar in my ears, and suddenly Nancy was on her butt in the fountain shouting, "Attie and Percy _pushed_ me!"

My jaw dropped. I... I didn't remember pushing her…? And from the look on Percy's face, he didn't either. The kids around us were whispering weird things too, like, "-did you see-"

"-the water-"

"-like it _grabbed_ her-"

"-did you feel the _ground_ -"

I didn't have time to think about that since another shadow loomed over us, this one smaller and yet so much more terrifying. Mrs. Dodds stood in front of us, a triumphant grin on her face like she had been waiting for Percy and me to screw up since the beginning of the year. And she probably had. "Now, darlings-"

"We know," I grumbled, sulking.

"A month erasing workbooks," Percy finished with a face.

That wasn't the right thing to say.

Mrs. Dodds eyes flashed, "Come with me." She commanded.

"Wait!" Grover scrambled to his feet. "It was me. I pushed her."

Percy and I shared a look. It was really weird for Grover to try and take the blame since Mrs. Dodds scared the absolute crap out of him.

Mrs. Dodds smiled, showing off her teeth, "I don't think so, Mr. Underwood."

"But-"

"You. Will. Stay. _Here_."

Grover looked at us desperately. Percy clasped his shoulder.

"It's okay, man." He said. "Thanks for trying."

"We'll be right back," I tried for an easy smile, but my stomach was churning. Not that I was scared of Mrs. Dodds, but if we got kicked out of this school, mom would be so disappointed even if she wouldn't say it.

"Darlings," Mrs. Dodds barked. " _Now_."

Nancy smirked from her place in the fountain.

She got twin I'll-kill-you-later stares from the two of us for her troubles. Then we turned towards Mrs. Dodds but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, arms crossed and foot tapping away impatiently.

"How'd she get there so fast?" I asked Percy.

My brain did that sometimes. I'd zone out for the tiniest second and bam! Something significant happened without me knowing it. It was like a piece of the puzzle of life went missing for a few seconds and the image on it changed. My councilor said that it was part of my ADHD mind, and that things like that were considered normal.

I wasn't so sure that this was one of those moments.

Percy and I hurriedly caught up to the teacher, following her into the museum. Percy looked over his shoulder, probably to assure Grover that we'd be fine, and then continued on with me. When we reached the top of the steps, Mrs. Dodds was already at the end of the entrance hallway.

"What do you think she's going to make us do?" I whispered to Percy.

"Probably make us buy Nancy a new shirt," he murmured back. "How much money do you have on you?"

"About ten bucks," I answered, pulling out my wallet and checking inside of it. I looked at him, "Isn't it illegal to make us buy her a shirt or something…?"

Percy shrugged. By the time we caught up with Mrs. Dodds, we were at the back of the Greek and Roman section. Her arms were crossed as she looked at us. She was making this weird noise in the back of her throat, like growling.

I'd be more nervous if Percy wasn't there. I'd never been alone with a teacher I didn't like and who clearly didn't like me. And boy was she scary. The way she looked at us, her eyes seemed to look straight into my soul…

"You two have been giving us problems, darlings," she said.

Percy and I did the safe thing. We said, "Yes, ma'am."

She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you two really think you were going to get away with it?"

The look in her eyes… they were evil.

I didn't know if Mrs. Dodds hated the both of us so much that she'd lose her job and hurt us. I quickly dismissed the thought. She couldn't be that crazy.

Percy said, "We'll- we'll try harder, ma'am."

Thunder shook the building, adding to the creepiness that was happening in the room.

"We are not fools Percy and Attie Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice shaking. I did not like the vibe I was getting from this lady.

The worst my brother and I have done so far has been selling an illegal stash of candy from the dorm room. I mean, I did cheat on that one history test, but I was super sneaky and I'm sure that Mrs. Dodds wouldn't bring it up now of all times.

"Well?" She demanded.

"Ma'am, we don't-"

"Your time is up," she hissed.

And I mean, she actually hissed.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow an eerie shade of red. Her fingers stretched, growing into talons. Her leather jacket melted on her body, turning into huge, leathery wings. She definitely wasn't human. She… she was a hag with bat wings, wickedly sharp claws, and yellow fangs she was about to use to slice my brother and I to shreds.

Then things got even weirder.

Mr. Brunner, who had been sitting outside a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen.

"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and then he tossed the pen through the air towards us.

Mrs. Dodds lunged.

Percy dove off to the right with a yelp as I fell straight onto my butt, screaming and covering my head with my arms. Something whooshed overhead and what felt like a thousand fans sent air towards my person. I uncovered my face quickly and screamed some more when Mrs. Dodds wrapped her talons on the back of my shirt and began pulling me backwards. I thrashed violently, wrapping my hand around hers and clawing at them with a desperateness I'd never felt before. She screeched a horrible, ear piecing noise, and released me, zooming up and hovering a couple of feet above the ground. I stared at her shell shocked.

"Hey ugly!" Percy shouted, his voice cracking. His hands were shaking so bad it looked like he was going to drop the sword he suddenly had in his hands. A bronze sword that I've seen before….

Mrs. Dodds snarled, "Die, honey!" and she flew straight at my brother.

" _No!_ " I yelled, scrambling onto my feet. My knees felt like jelly. Time seemed to slow down as the hag got closer and closer to Percy. And all I could do was stand by helplessly and watch.

Percy swung his sword. The metal blade passed straight through her shoulder as if she was made out of water. _Hisss_!

Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a powder fan. She exploded in a gold dust, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the strong scent of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil, as if those glowing red eyes were still watching us.

My brother and I stood there for a long moment. We blinked, and there was a ball point pen in his hands where the sword had been seconds before. I unfroze first.

"Oh my god!" I gasped, rushing towards my brother and wrapping him in a hug. His arms wrapped around me quickly, and he squeezed. "Oh my god."

"You saw that too?" he croaked. "I didn't eat any magic mushrooms, did I?"

"I saw it. I thought she was going to kill us," my eyes watered. Is this what being in a life or death situation felt like? My nerves couldn't handle it.

Percy pulled away and stared at the pen like it would bite him. Then he looked at me, "We better get back." I nodded and ran a shaky hand through my hair, oddly feeling like some of the powder had gotten all over me. I shuttered. _Gross_.

When we got outside, it was raining. Grover was still sitting by the fountain with a museum map covering his head. Nancy stood by the fountain, talking to her friends. We walked up to her.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butts," she sneered.

I blinked, " _Who_?"

"Our teacher. Duh," she said as if I were the crazy one.

"What are you talking about?" Percy demanded. We don't have any teacher named Mrs. Kerr.

Nancy rolled her eyes and turned away from us as if we were moldy sandwiches.

I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.

He said, "Who?"

But Grover is an awful liar. He paused first, and he wouldn't look at either of us in the eye, so I just thought he was messing with us.

"This isn't funny," I snapped.

"This is serious," Percy growled.

Thunder boomed overhead.

As I gave Grover a stare down, Percy walked towards Mr. Brunner. "Seriously, man."

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Grover frowned and finally looked at me in the eye. "You don't look so good. Are you okay?"

" _No_ ," I said angrily. I didn't want to sound so mean, but I was confused and I just wanted to know what was happening. "Mrs. Dodds, who does- or did- exist just tried to kill us-!"

Percy walked back over to us and I stopped in the middle of my sentence when I noticed his face. He looked like a lost puppy. "What?" I asked. "What did Mr. Brunner say?"

"He said," Percy paused, looking me in the eye with an emotion I couldn't place my finger on, "he said that there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. And as far as he's known, there's never been a Mrs. Dodds in Yancy Academy."

 **Whoo! Chapter one is** ** _done_** **! I can't wait till they get to camp. Leave a review and tell me what you thought! Any ideas? Please share!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoa look whose back! Didn't take tooooo long, right? Hope not! I'm still working through chapter three (Not much action, so I'm kinda being slow) but I hope this satisfies for awhile!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't Own PJ series. Just Attie and the other OCs**

 **Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death**

After that whole museum experience, everyone acted strangely. For the rest of the year, the entire school seemed to be against my brother and me. Everyone acted as if Mrs. Kerr- a perky blonde woman who I'd never seen before she got on the bus at the end of that field trip- had been our pre algebra teacher since the beginning of the year. She wasn't that bad of a teacher, and she was nice, but that wasn't the point.

Every so often, Percy and I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference at some students to see if we could trip them up. But each time, we got the same reaction. They'd look at us weirdly and claim that they'd never heard about her. Then they'd ask if we were okay.

I would have been convinced. I mean, an entire school telling me that Percy and I must've had a strange dream wasn't something totally unbelievable. Percy and I shared dreams all the time, this wouldn't be new.

There was only one problem.

Grover.

He couldn't fool us. When we would mention Mrs. Dodds he'd hesitate, then claim that she never existed. We could read him like a book.

Something was going on. Something unnatural had happened at the museum. And it was super frustrating that I wasn't getting answers.

The days were filled with school and homework, but my mind was able to wonder at night. Visions of Mrs. Dodds and her glowing red eyes and extended talons as she lunged at me shouting, "Die, honey!" would wake me up in a cold sweat.

The weather was not helping my mood at all. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in Percy and Grover's dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. In history, we talked about the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.

Percy and I were cranky and irritable most of the time. Our high Ds dropped to low Fs. We didn't even bother trying to control our temper anymore and got into more fights with Nancy and her friends. When Percy wasn't sent into the hallway, I was.

Then one day, we both snapped. Our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, had asked Percy for the millionth time why he was too lazy to study for spelling tests.

"Lay off," I shouted, surprising both the teacher and the other students in the room. "Honestly, maybe the reason we're failing is because _you're_ a _horrible_ teacher."

"Yeah, you old _sot_ ," Percy added, looking extremely proud of himself. I didn't know what that meant, but it got all the kids to laugh. Mr. Nicoll turned red and spluttered, telling the both of us to go to the office immediately.

The headmaster sent our mom a letter the following week making it official, we were not ' _invited'_ back next year to Yancy Academy.

Fine. Whatever. I didn't care.

I was homesick.

I wanted to be back with mom in our cozy apartment on the Upper East Side, even if it meant that I had to go to a public school and deal with my stupid step father and his stupid poker games and that awful cigarette smell that always floated through the apartment.

I mean, there were things I'd miss at Yancy. My roommate, Britney, was a really nice girl who was just the right amount of sass and snark. She was funny, someone I'm going to miss. Plus, the view of the Hudson River in the distance and the lingering smell of pine trees. Of course I'd miss Grover, even though he was a little weird and was obviously hiding something from my brother and me. I worried that he'd be beaten up by Nancy next year without us there.

I'd miss Mr. Brunner too- he was the only teacher that seemed to see my worth. He always believed that Percy and I could do so well. As exam week got closer, Latin was the only subject I studied for. I remember when Mr. Brunner had told Percy about his class being useful in life-or-death situations. I don't know why, but I started believing him.

§§§§§§PaGe BrEaK§§§§§§

It was the evening before the final when I heard a thud against the room next to mine. Britney and I jumped as we looked at the wall, expecting a hole to be there. I sighed and closed my _Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology_ on my finger so I wouldn't lose my spot.

"That would be Percy," I told Britney, who smirked and continued studying for her history exam. "I'll just go and check up on him."

I walked into my brother's dorm to see him pacing the room with a frustrated look on his face. He looked like there were ants crawling around in his pants.

"Are the words swimming around the book for you too?" I asked softly, padding into the room and leaving the door open a crack.

"Oh yeah," He sighed. "Plus, how am I going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon? They might as well be the same person."

"I can tell you how I remember it," he paused and inclined his head, "Okay, so Chiron is the guy that trained all those heroes. He's the good guy. **_I_** like Ch ** _i_** ron. With the _i_. Get it? Then Charon is… the one that steers the boat to the underworld, I'm pretty sure. They're both very different." Percy snorted. "Hey, don't judge. It works."

" ** _I_** like Ch ** _i_** ron," Percy mumbled. He smirked, "Hey, it does work. Alright, genius, what about Polydictes and Polydeuces? And what about conjugating those Latin verbs?"

I made a face, "Uh…" A lightbulb went off in my head, "Grab your book. I'm sure Mr. Brunner would help us."

"I'd never asked a teacher for help before," Percy admitted as he walked over to his fallen book and picked it up.

"Me neither, but if we do fail, at least he knows we tried really, really hard," I stated, walking side by side with my brother down the hall. I didn't want my one, and only, favorite teacher thinking I hadn't tried.

We walked downstairs to the faculty offices. They were all dark and empty besides Mr. Brunners office which was slightly ajar with light flowing across the hallway floor. Percy was three steps away from opening the door when Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said, "…worried about Attie and Percy, sir."

We froze.

It's rude to eavesdrop, but it's even ruder to talk about you to an adult. We inched closer to the door.

"…alone this summer," Grover way saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the _school_! Now that we know for sure, and _they_ know too-"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing them," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the both of them to mature more."

 _Mature more_?

"But they might not have time. The summer solstice deadline-"

"Will have to be resolved without them, Grover. Let them enjoy their ignorance while they still can."

"Sir, they _saw_ her…."

"Their imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince them of that."

"Sir, I… I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Attie and Percy alive until next fall-"

 _Thud_

I whipped my head towards Percy with panic on my face. His mythology book had slipped right out of his hands, causing the loudest thud I had ever heard in the empty hallway. Mr. Brunner and Grover went silent.

All I could hear was my heart as Percy scooped up his book and we stealthily backed down the hall. A shadow slid across the lightened glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than a wheelchair-bound man, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.

I clamped my hand around Percy's wrist, pulled open the nearest door, and slid inside.

A few seconds later, a slow _clop-clop-clop-clop_ , like the sound of two coconuts clacking together, then there was a sound like someone was sniffing right outside the door. My heart hammered as a large, dark figure paused right at our door, then moved on.

A bead of sweat trickled down my temple.

Then Mr. Brunner spoke, "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn…"

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me."

The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's room.

We waited in the dark for what seemed like forever. When we deemed it safe, we finally slipped out into the hallway and made our way back to the dorm. A good couple of feet away from Percy's dorm, I stopped my brother and whispered, "We heard nothing, got it? Don't let Grover know what we know. Can you play it cool?"

He tried for a smile, but I could tell he was shaken up, "Please, I'll be fine. Sleep well." He leaned over and placed an obnoxious kiss on my forehead. I giggled tightly and swatted him away with my own goodnight.

I lied in bed for a long time, replaying the conversation over and over again. Mr. Brunner and Grover were talking about Percy and me behind our backs. And, for whatever reason, believed that we were in some sort of danger.

§§§§§§PaGe BrEaK§§§§§§

Three hours, and Percy finished the Latin test before me. He walked up to Mr. Brunner and plopped the huge packet down on his desk, smirked at me like "Beat that," and turned to walk out the door. Mr. Brunner called him back. My heart raced. What if he knew that Percy and I eavesdropped the night before?

"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's… it's for the best."

Even though he said it kindly, and his voice was super low, everyone in the classroom could still hear it. Nancy smirked at my brother and made little kissy motions with her lips.

Percy mumbled, "Okay, sir."

"I mean…" Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."

My jaw actually dropped. Here was our favorite teacher, the one that believed in us, telling my brother that it was only a matter of time before he got kicked out. Anger coursed through my veins. How dare he-

"Right," he said, his fingers trembling.

I quickly marked my answers on the test, speeding through the last ten questions as quickly as possible, not even caring whether or not I got them right.

"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say… you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"

"Thanks," he blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."

"Percy-"

But Percy was already out the door. I stood up abruptly and slammed my paper on Mr. Brunner's desk, startling the man. His sad eyes made it to my face as I said sarcastically, " _Thanks_ for everything, sir."

"Attie, please-"

I followed my brother out the door without another word.

§§§§§§PaGe BrEaK§§§§§§

I balled all the clothes up and shoved them in my suitcase. With some strategic packaging, I was able to stuff all my things in the bag. It took some team work, but between myself and Britney, we were able to zip the thing shut.

"Take care of yourself," I said, giving the girl a hug which she gladly returned.

"I'm so upset I won't be seeing you next year, Attie," she sniffed, and pulled away to examine my face. She whipped a tear from her face and let out a watery laugh. "Have a great summer. Don't forget about me! And you and Percy better stay out of trouble!"

I giggled and made no such promise. I grabbed my suitcase and made my way to the front of the school where I'd be meeting Percy. I found him with a group of guys.

"Oh, we'll be going to, um, New York this summer," Percy was saying.

"Oh," one guy said. "That's cool."

Then he turned and began talking to his other friend's as if Percy didn't exist. I sighed. What I wouldn't give for an exciting summer.

"Come on, Perce," I said, "I still need to say good-bye to Grover."

"Me too," he said, the sadness in his voice evident. I was upset to. Saying good-bye to Grover might be the hardest part.

Turns out, we didn't quite have to say goodbye yet. Grover booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as we had, so there we all were, together again, heading into the city.

During the whole ride, Grover's eyes kept darting around nervously. He was a nervous person by nature, but I always assumed that he was nervous at Yancy because of Nancy, but there was no Nancy on sight. He looked guilty of something, kind of like he was running from the police. All twitchy, and suspicious looking.

Percy said, "Looking for any Kindly Ones?"

I rolled my eyes as Grover nearly jumped out of his seat and onto the floor, "Wha-what do you mean?"

Well now that the cat was out of the bag, we confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.

Grover's eye twitched as he looked between the both of us, "How much did you hear?"

"Oh… not that much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"

He winced, "Look, Percy… I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers…"

"Seriously?" I asked.

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and…"

"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar," Percy deadpanned.

Grover's ears turned pink.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out two business cards that were a little worse for wear. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer?"

He handed one card to me and one to Percy. The writing was in fancy script, which was absolute murder for my dyslexic eyes, but I finally managed to make out something like:

Grover Underwood  
Keeper

Half-Blood Hill  
Long-Island, New York  
(800) 009-0009

I wanted to know why the font was so awful, but instead I asked, "What's Half-"

"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. At my wide eyed stare, he said, "That's my, um… summer address."

Oh. Grover had a summer home. I… guess I didn't expect that his family was just as rich as the other kids at Yancy.

"Okay," Percy said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."

He nodded, "Or…. Or if you need me."

"Why would we need you?" I knew it was way harsher than Percy had meant it to sound, but I don't think he cared that much.

Grover blushed, "Look, Percy… Attie, the truth is, I- I kind of have to protect the both of you."

I actually laughed out loud. _He_ had to protect _us_? All year long, Percy and I had been acting like a shield between him and Nancy. I was so worried about what he was going to do next year without us. Now he's the one whose acting like he's protecting us.

"From who?" I asked incredulously.

Grover opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly the bus jerked so hard I almost bit my tongue. I whipped my head to the front of the bus where the dashboard was quickly becoming engulfed in black smoke. The smell of rotten eggs attacked my nostrils, causing me to gag and cover my nose. The driver cursed and gently guided the bus over to the side of the road, telling everyone to stay calm and file out in an orderly fashion.

I was more annoyed than concerned. We all walked out of the bus. I wish we could have just walked form here, but we were in the middle of nowhere. Like a part of the road where no one would know if you broke down on. I made a bee line for the bus driver when he popped open the radiator and a huge gust of black smoke flew right into his face. He launched into a coughing fit.

"You alright?" I asked, worried that my ticket back to mom was going to keel over. He waved his arm in the air and nodded. "What happened?"

"Ah might've been anything from a loose screw to a cat being caught under the hood," the man gave a hearty laugh as I questioned his sanity. He didn't seem very bothered that I didn't laugh at his cruel joke. Instead, he wove his hands around the smoke to clear it. "let's see… hmm…"

I peeked inside the piece of machinery and noticed that I would be doing nothing but get in this man's way.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, like something bad was about to happen. I swiveled my head towards the opposite side of the road where three super old- ancient looking- ladies sitting at a fruit stand were… knitting. One old woman help up a string, one held up scissors and was looking farther to my right, and the other woman was holding a basket full of yarn and was staring straight at me.

Okay, that's super creepy.

I was unable to look away from her milky white eyes. She didn't look very threatening, but a spark of fear traveled through my entire body. There was something about these three women that screamed ' _Danger_!' kind of like Mrs. Dodds…

Then the lady with the scissors brought them up and cut the yarn that the middle lady was holding and I swear I could hear the _snip_ from across four lanes of traffic. Then they started packing up all their equipment, like they were done for the day.

A weird feeling spread through my bones. Something about those three old ladies seemed almost familiar. Where did I know them from…?

Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards. I jumped out of my trance and turned around to see Grover with an iron grip on my arm as he pulled both me and my brother into the bus. Just then, there was the sound of metal being scraped across metal and the engine of the bus shuttered and roared to life.

The people cheered.

"Darn right!" yelled the driver. "Everyone back on board!"

As soon as I got on the bus, I started feeling faint. I all but fell into my seat and held my head. I glanced at my brother and sat up straight and placed the back of my hand against Percy's clammy forehead, "Percy? Hey, are you okay? You look like you caught the flu!"

"I feel like it," he grumbled, eyes slipping shut as he leaned back in the seat and rested his head against my shoulder. I glanced at Grover over Percy's head to see the kid was shivering and teeth chattering.

"Woah, man. You don't look too good either. What the heck happened out there?"

"Did you see the old ladies too?" Grover asked desperately. At a nod of my head he paled further. "What exactly did you see?"

"Some old ladies at a fruit stand. One was holding a string of yarn, another had some scissors, and the other had a basket full of yarn."

"What did she do with the yarn?"

"She cut it."

Grover closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it was something else, something almost- older.

"What'd you just do?" Percy asked curiously, his head still resting on my shoulder. The color was slowly returning to his face.

He ignored Percy, "You both saw her snip the cord."

"Yeah, so?" we asked at the same time. But with the way Grover was acting, it must've been a big deal.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

That got Percy's attention. He sat up and asked slowly, "What last time?"

"Always sixth. They never get passed sixth grade."

"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to freak me out. "What are you _talking_ about?"

"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."

It was a strange request, and with the way he was acting, I didn't really want to. But Percy already promised.

"Is this like a superstition or something?" Percy asked.

No answer.

"Grover- that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean that… someone is going to die?"

Then he finally looked at us, but I wish he hadn't. He looked mournful, like he was already picking the kind of flowers we'd like best on our coffins.

 **And that's a wrap! I'll be back! Reviews make me happy**


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